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groundloop

(13,887 posts) Tue Apr 7, 2026, 05:52 PM Tuesday

Todd Blanche, in 1st appearance as acting AG, shrugs off suggestion Trump will 'pressure' him to target opponents

Source: ABC News

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche used his first news conference Tuesday to shrug off any suggestion that he would use the Justice Department to more aggressively target perceived enemies of President Donald Trump, as he heaped praise on his ousted predecessor Pam Bondi.

"First of all, we have thousands of ongoing investigations and prosecutions going on in this country right now, and it is true that some of them involve men women and entities that the president in the past has had issues with and that believe should be investigated," Blanche said. "That is his right, and indeed it is his duty to do that, meaning, to lead this country."

Blanche denied he views President Trump's public statements urging the prosecutions of his enemies as "pressure" on him in serving as the head of the DOJ. Trump, naming several of his perceived political foes in a September social media post, said, "JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!"

"I do not view this as pressure," Blanche said. "I do not view this as something that is going to keep me up at night, except to make sure that we are investigating every case that we that we have to the fullest extent of the law and using all the resources we can."

Read more: https://abcnews.com/US/todd-blanche-1st-appearance-acting-ag-shrugs-off/story?id=131803038

4 replies

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Todd Blanche, in 1st appearance as acting AG, shrugs off suggestion Trump will 'pressure' him to target opponents (Original Post) groundloop Tuesday OP

There's no pressure. He said he will do it. twodogsbarking Tuesday #1

Now he's going after Cassidy Hutchinson BigmanPigman Tuesday #2

He won't have to. Mz Pip Tuesday #3

MaddowBlog-Acting AG Blanche tries and fails to justify Trump's control over the Justice Department LetMyPeopleVote Wednesday #4

twodogsbarking

(18,877 posts)

1. There's no pressure. He said he will do it.

Reply to groundloop (Original post)

Tue Apr 7, 2026, 07:27 PM

Tuesday

BigmanPigman

(55,239 posts)

2. Now he's going after Cassidy Hutchinson

Reply to groundloop (Original post)

Tue Apr 7, 2026, 08:59 PM

Tuesday

Team tRump will never give up on their agenda. We must permanently destroy Team tRump and all of those who ever supported him since 2016! ALL OF THEM...from the MSM, the politicians, etc...to even the little old lady who lives in a shoe. No grey areas. Black or white...simple as that.

"The Justice Department has assigned its civil rights division to investigate Cassidy Hutchinson, a former White House aide who outraged President Trump four years ago after her testimony before Congress implicated him in the violence that erupted at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to four people familiar with the matter."

Acting Attorney General Says ‘Nobody Has Any Idea’ Why Bondi Was Fired - The New York Times https://share.google/NTKQKCqB9kELeOO3u

Mz Pip

(28,466 posts)

3. He won't have to.

Reply to groundloop (Original post)

Tue Apr 7, 2026, 10:47 PM

Tuesday

He works for Trump. Not for us.

LetMyPeopleVote

(180,248 posts)

4. MaddowBlog-Acting AG Blanche tries and fails to justify Trump's control over the Justice Department

Reply to groundloop (Original post)

Wed Apr 8, 2026, 07:42 PM

Wednesday

It fell to the acting attorney general to assure the public that it can have confidence in the DOJ. He instead showed how little has changed.

Acting AG Blanche tries and fails to justify Trumpâ€™s control over the Justice Department

www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
— Mike Walker (@newnarrative.bsky.social) 2026-04-08T16:22:01.132Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/acting-ag-blanche-tries-and-fails-to-justify-trumps-control-over-the-justice-department

In recent months, Americans have seen Donald Trump’s DOJ make awful mistakes, some devastating and some amateurish. The White House has usurped control and has set the department’s credibility on fire. The DOJ is acting like Trump’s personal law firm, as key personnel have been redirected from core responsibilities to pursue the president’s pet endeavors. It’s been weaponized to an almost cartoonish degree and is losing key cases. Once-rare mass resignations are becoming far more common, contributing to serious staffing challenges and “crisis” conditions in prosecutorial offices....

But most of all, Blanche tried — and failed — to justify Trump’s control over the Justice Department.

Link to tweet

“President Trump has made no secret of the fact that he wants to see his perceived political enemies prosecuted,” a reporter said. “So now that you’re in this position, how are you going to balance that relentless pressure with this administration’s promise to end the weaponization of this department?”

The acting attorney general made no real effort to contest the premise. “We have thousands of ongoing investigations and prosecutions going on in this country right now,” Blanche replied. “And it is true that some of them involve men, women and entities that the president in the past has had issues with and believes should be investigated. That is his right, and indeed it is his duty to do that, meaning to lead this country.”....

So, as the acting AG sees it, Trump feels obligated to direct federal law enforcement to go after his perceived political enemies, which Blanche sees as entirely appropriate. That endorsement only reinforces concerns about the degree to which the DOJ has been weaponized.

Blanche went on to explain that he believes it’s his job to “execute the president’s agenda and priorities,” he rejected the idea of a post-Watergate “firewall” between the White House and criminal investigations, and he hoped White House officials would make criminal referrals to the DOJ.

The DOJ does NOT represent trump personally. The DOJ represents the people of the United States. I am shocked that Blanch pass the ethics part of the bar exam

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